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January 8
January 8 is the eighth day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. There are 357 days remaining until the end of the year (358 in leap years). This date is slightly more likely to fall on a Tuesday, Friday or Sunday (58 in 400 years each) than on Wednesday or Thursday (57), and slightly less likely to occur on a Monday or Saturday (56). Contents 1 Events 2 Births 3 Deaths 4 Holidays and observances 5 External links Events 307 – Jin Huidi, Chinese Emperor of the Jin dynasty, is poisoned and succeeded by his son Jin Huaidi. 387 – Siyaj K'ak' conquers Waka 871 – Alfred the Great leads a West Saxon army to repel an invasion by Danelaw Vikings. 1297 – François Grimaldi, disguised as a monk, leads his men to capture the fortress protecting the Rock of Monaco, establishing his family as the rulers of Monaco. 1454 – The papal bull Romanus Pontifex awards the Kingdom of Portugal exclusive trade and colonization rights to all of Africa south of Cape Bojador. 1499 – Louis XII of France marries Anne of Brittany. 1547 – the first Lithuanian-language book, Simple Words of Catechism, is published in Königsberg. 1697 – Last execution for blasphemy in Britain; of Thomas Aikenhead, student, at Edinburgh. 1735 – Premiere performance of George Frideric Handel's Ariodante at the Royal Opera House, Covent Garden. 1746 – Second Jacobite rising: Bonnie Prince Charlie occupies Stirling. 1790 – George Washington delivers the first State of the Union address in New York City. 1806 – Cape Colony becomes a British colony. 1811 – An unsuccessful slave revolt is led by Charles Deslondes in St. Charles and St. James, Louisiana. 1815 – War of 1812: Battle of New Orleans: Andrew Jackson leads American forces in victory over the British. 1835 – The United States national debt is zero for the only time. 1863 – American Civil War: Second Battle of Springfield 1867 – African American men are granted the right to vote in Washington, D.C. 1877 – Crazy Horse and his warriors fight their last battle against the United States Cavalry at Wolf Mountain, Montana Territory. 1889 – Herman Hollerith is issued US patent #395,791 for the 'Art of Applying Statistics' — his punched card calculator. 1904 – The Blackstone Library is dedicated, marking the beginning of the Chicago Public Library system. 1906 – A landslide in Haverstraw, New York, caused by the excavation of clay along the Hudson River, kills 20 people. 1912 – The African National Congress is founded. 1918 – President Woodrow Wilson announces his "Fourteen Points" for the aftermath of World War I. 1920 – The steel strike of 1919 ends in a complete failure for the Amalgamated Association of Iron, Steel and Tin Workers labor union. 1940 – World War II: Britain introduces food rationing. 1945 – World War II: Philippine Commonwealth troops under the Philippine Commonwealth Army units enter the province of Ilocos Sur in Northern Luzon and attack Japanese Imperial forces. 1956 – Operation Auca: Five U.S. missionaries are killed by the Huaorani of Ecuador shortly after making contact with them. 1961 – In France a referendum supports Charles de Gaulle's policies in Algeria. 1962 – The Harmelen train disaster killed 93 people in the Netherlands. 1963 – Leonardo da Vinci's Mona Lisa is exhibited in the United States for the first time, at the National Gallery of Art in Washington, D.C. 1964 – President Lyndon B. Johnson declares a "War on Poverty" in the United States. 1971 – Bowing to international pressure, President of Pakistan Zulfikar Ali Bhutto releases Bengali leader Sheikh Mujibur Rahman from prison, who had been arrested after declaring the independence of Bangladesh. 1973 – Soviet space mission Luna 21 is launched. 1973 – Watergate scandal: The trial of seven men accused of illegal entry into Democratic Party headquarters at Watergate begins. 1975 – Ella T. Grasso becomes Governor of Connecticut, the first woman to serve as a Governor in the United States other than by succeeding her husband. 1977 – Three bombs explode in Moscow, Russia, Soviet Union, within 37 minutes, killing seven. The bombings are attributed to an Armenian separatist group. 1979 – The tanker Betelgeuse explodes in Bantry Bay, Ireland. 1981 – A local farmer reports a UFO sighting in Trans-en-Provence, France, claimed to be "perhaps the most completely and carefully documented sighting of all time". 1982 – Breakup of the Bell System: AT&T agrees to divest itself of twenty-two subdivisions. 1989 – Kegworth air disaster: British Midland Flight 92, a Boeing 737-400, crashes into the M1 motorway, killing 47 of the 126 people on board. 1989 – Beginning of Japanese Heisei period. 1994 – Russian cosmonaut Valeri Polyakov on Soyuz TM-18 leaves for Mir. He would stay on the space station until March 22, 1995, for a record 437 days in space. 1996 – An Antonov An-32 cargo aircraft crashes into a crowded market in Kinshasa, Zaire, killing up to 237 on the ground; the aircraft's crew of six survive the crash. 2002 – President George W. Bush signs into law the No Child Left Behind Act. 2003 – Turkish Airlines Flight 634 crashes near Diyarbakır Airport, Turkey, killing the entire crew and 70 of 75 passengers. 2003 – Air Midwest Flight 5481 crashes at Charlotte-Douglas Airport, Charlotte, North Carolina, killing all 21 people on board. 2004 – The RMS Queen Mary 2, the largest ocean liner ever built, is christened by her namesake's granddaughter, Queen Elizabeth II. 2005 – The nuclear sub USS San Francisco collides at full speed with an undersea mountain south of Guam. One man is killed, but the sub surfaces and is repaired. 2009 – A 6.1-magnitude earthquake in northern Costa Rica kills 15 people and injures 32. 2010 – Gunmen from an offshoot the Front for the Liberation of the Enclave of Cabinda attacked the bus carrying the Togo national football team on its way to the 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, killing three. 2011 – The attempted assassination of Arizona Representative Gabrielle Giffords and subsequent shooting in Casas Adobes, Arizona. Births 1556 – Uesugi Kagekatsu, Japanese daimyo (d. 1623) 1583 – Simon Episcopius, Dutch theologian and academic (d. 1643) 1587 – Johannes Fabricius, German astronomer and academic (d. 1616) 1589 – Ivan Gundulić, Croatian poet and playwright (d. 1638) 1601 – Baltasar Gracián, Spanish priest and author (d. 1658) 1628 – François-Henri de Montmorency, duc de Luxembourg, French general (d. 1695) 1632 – Samuel von Pufendorf, German economist and jurist (d. 1694) 1635 – Luis Manuel Fernández de Portocarrero, Spanish cardinal (d. 1709) 1638 – Elisabetta Sirani, Italian painter (d. 1665) 1735 – John Carroll, American archbishop, ex-Jesuit, founder of Georgetown University (d. 1815) 1763 – Edmond-Charles Genêt, French-American translator and diplomat (d. 1834) 1786 – Nicholas Biddle, American banker and financier (d. 1844) 1788 – Archduke Rudolf of Austria (d. 1831) 1792 – Lowell Mason, American composer and educator (d. 1872) 1805 – John Bigler, American lawyer, politician, and diplomat, 3rd Governor of California (d. 1871) 1805 – Orson Hyde, American religious leader, 3rd President of the Quorum of the Twelve Apostles (d. 1878) 1812 – Sigismond Thalberg, Swiss pianist and composer (d. 1871) 1817 – Theophilus Shepstone, English-South African politician (d. 1893) 1821 – James Longstreet, American general and diplomat, United States Ambassador to Turkey (d. 1904) 1821 – W. H. L. Wallace, American lawyer and general (d. 1862) 1823 – Alfred Russel Wallace, Welsh-English geographer, biologist, and explorer (d. 1913) 1824 – Wilkie Collins, English author and playwright (d. 1889) 1824 – Francisco González Bocanegra, Mexican poet and composer (d. 1861) 1830 – Albert Bierstadt, German-American painter and educator (d. 1902) 1830 – Hans von Bülow, German pianist and composer (d. 1894) 1836 – Lawrence Alma-Tadema, Dutch-English painter and academic (d. 1912) 1843 – Frederick Abberline, English police officer (d. 1929) 1843 – Karl Eduard Heusner, German admiral (d. 1891) 1843 – John H. Moffitt, American sergeant and politician, Medal of Honor recipient (d. 1926) 1852 – James Milton Carroll, American pastor and author (d. 1931) 1854 – Fanny Bullock Workman, American mountaineer, geographer, and cartographer (d. 1925) 1860 – Emma Booth, English author (d. 1903) 1862 – Frank Nelson Doubleday, American publisher, founded the Doubleday Publishing Company (d. 1934) 1864 – Prince Albert Victor, Duke of Clarence and Avondale (d. 1892) 1865 – Winnaretta Singer, American philanthropist (d. 1943) 1866 – William G. Conley, American educator and politician, 18th Governor of West Virginia (d. 1940) 1867 – Emily Greene Balch, American economist and author, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1961) 1870 – Miguel Primo de Rivera, Spanish general and politician, Prime Minister of Spain (d. 1930) 1871 – James Craig, 1st Viscount Craigavon, Irish captain and politician, 1st Prime Minister of Northern Ireland (d. 1940) 1873 – Iuliu Maniu, Romanian lawyer and politician, 32nd Prime Minister of Romania (d. 1953) 1873 – Elena of Montenegro (d. 1956) 1876 – Arturs Alberings, Latvian lawyer and politician, Prime Minister of Latvia (d. 1934) 1879 – Charles Bryant, English-American actor and director (d. 1948) 1881 – Henrik Shipstead, American dentist and politician (d. 1960) 1881 – Linnie Marsh Wolfe, American librarian and author (d. 1945) 1883 – Pavel Filonov, Russian painter and poet (d. 1941) 1883 – Patrick J. Hurley, American general, politician, and diplomat, 51st United States Secretary of War (d. 1963) 1885 – John Curtin, Australian journalist and politician, 14th Prime Minister of Australia (d. 1945) 1885 – Mór Kóczán, Hungarian javelin thrower and pastor (d. 1972) 1885 – A. J. Muste, Dutch-American pastor and activist (d. 1967) 1888 – Richard Courant, German-American mathematician and academic (d. 1972) 1888 – Matthew Moore, Irish-American actor and director (d. 1960) 1891 – Walther Bothe, German physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (d. 1957) 1891 – Storm Jameson, English journalist and author (d. 1986) 1891 – Bronislava Nijinska, Russian dancer and choreographer (d. 1972) 1894 – Maximilian Kolbe, Polish martyr and saint (d. 1941) 1896 – Arthur Ford, American psychic, founded the Spiritual Frontiers Fellowship (d. 1971) 1896 – Jaromír Weinberger, Czech-American composer and academic (d. 1967) 1897 – Dennis Wheatley, English soldier and author (d. 1977) 1899 – S. W. R. D. Bandaranaike, Sri Lankan lawyer and politician, 4th Prime Minister of Sri Lanka (d. 1959) 1900 – Merlyn Myer, Australian philanthropist (d. 1982) 1902 – Georgy Malenkov, Russian engineer and politician (d. 1988) 1902 – Carl Rogers, American psychologist and academic (d. 1987) 1904 – Karl Brandt, German physician and SS officer (d. 1948) 1904 – Tampa Red, American guitarist and songwriter (d. 1981) 1905 – Giacinto Scelsi, Italian composer and poet (d. 1988) 1906 – Serge Poliakoff, Russian-French painter (d. 1969) 1907 – Keizō Hayashi, Japanese general and civil servant (d. 1991) 1908 – William Hartnell, English actor (d. 1975) 1908 – Fearless Nadia, Australian-Indian actress and stuntwoman (d. 1966) 1909 – Ashapoorna Devi, Indian author and poet (d. 1995) 1909 – Willy Millowitsch, German actor, director, and screenwriter (d. 1999) 1909 – Bruce Mitchell, South African cricketer (d. 1995) 1909 – Nikolaos Platon, Greek archaeologist (d. 1992) 1909 – Evelyn Wood, American author and educator (d. 1995) 1910 – Galina Ulanova, Russian actress and ballerina (d. 1998) 1911 – Tom Delaney, English race car driver and businessman (d. 2006) 1911 – Gypsy Rose Lee, American actress, dancer, and author (d. 1970) 1912 – José Ferrer, Puerto Rican-American actor and director (d. 1992) 1912 – Lawrence Walsh, Canadian-American lawyer, judge, and politician, 4th United States Deputy Attorney General (d. 2014) 1915 – Walker Cooper, American baseball player and manager (d. 1991) 1917 – Peter Matthew Hillsman Taylor, American author, playwright, and academic (d. 1994) 1920 – Richard Benedict, American actor and director (d. 1984) 1921 – Herta Bothe, German concentration camp guard 1922 – Dale D. Myers, American engineer (d. 2015) 1922 – Jan Nieuwenhuys, Dutch painter (d. 1986) 1923 – Larry Storch, American actor 1923 – Giorgio Tozzi, American opera singer and educator (d. 2011) 1923 – Johnny Wardle, English cricketer (d. 1985) 1923 – Joseph Weizenbaum, German-American computer scientist and author (d. 2008) 1924 – Benjamin Lees, Chinese-American soldier and composer (d. 2010) 1924 – Ron Moody, English actor and singer (d. 2015) 1925 – Helmuth Hübener, German activist (d. 1942) 1925 – Mohan Rakesh, Indian author and playwright (d. 1972) 1926 – Evelyn Lear, American operatic soprano (d. 2012) 1926 – Kelucharan Mohapatra, Indian dancer and choreographer (d. 2004) 1926 – Hanae Mori, Japanese fashion designer 1926 – Soupy Sales, American comedian and actor (d. 2009) 1927 – Charles Tomlinson, English poet and academic (d. 2015) 1928 – Slade Gorton, American colonel, lawyer, and politician, 14th Attorney General of Washington 1928 – Gaston Miron, Canadian poet and author (d. 1996) 1929 – Saeed Jaffrey, Indian-English actor (d. 2015) 1931 – Bill Graham, German-American businessman (d. 1991) 1931 – Clarence Benjamin Jones, American lawyer and scholar 1931 – Chuck Metcalf, American bassist (d. 2012) 1933 – Nolan Miller, American fashion and jewelry designer (d. 2012) 1933 – Charles Osgood, American soldier and journalist 1933 – Jean-Marie Straub, French director and screenwriter 1933 – Willie Tasby, American baseball player 1934 – Jacques Anquetil, French cyclist (d. 1987) 1934 – Gene Freese, American baseball player and manager (d. 2013) 1934 – Alexandra Ripley, American author (d. 2004) 1935 – Lewis H. Lapham, American publisher, founded Lapham's Quarterly 1935 – Elvis Presley, American singer, guitarist, and actor (The Blue Moon Boys) (d. 1977) 1936 – Zdeněk Mácal, Czech-American conductor 1936 – Robert May, Baron May of Oxford, Australian-English zoologist, ecologist, and academic 1937 – Shirley Bassey, Welsh singer 1938 – Bob Eubanks, American game show host and producer 1938 – Anthony Giddens, English sociologist and academic 1938 – Yevgeny Nesterenko, Russian opera singer and educator 1939 – Carolina Herrera, Venezuelan-American fashion designer 1939 – Ruth Maleczech, American actress (d. 2013) 1939 – Alan Wilson, English mathematician and academic 1940 – Mark Bretscher, English biologist and academic 1941 – Graham Chapman, English actor, singer, and screenwriter (d. 1989) 1941 – Boris Vallejo, Peruvian-American painter and illustrator 1941 – Yoshinori Watanabe, Japanese mob boss (d. 2012) 1942 – Stephen Hawking, English physicist and author 1942 – Junichirō Koizumi, Japanese politician, 56th Prime Minister of Japan 1942 – Yvette Mimieux, American actress 1942 – Royce Waltman, American basketball player and coach (d. 2014) 1943 – Charles Murray, American political scientist and author 1944 – Terry Brooks, American lawyer and author 1945 – Nancy Bond, American author and academic 1945 – Kadir Topbaş, Turkish architect and politician, 31st Mayor of Istanbul 1946 – Robby Krieger, American guitarist and songwriter (The Doors, Butts Band, and Manzarek–Krieger) 1947 – Don Bendell, American rancher and author 1947 – David Bowie, English singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (d. 2016) 1947 – David Gates, American journalist and author 1947 – Antti Kalliomäki, Finnish pole vaulter and politician 1947 – Samuel Schmid, Swiss lawyer and politician, 90th President of the Swiss Confederation 1947 – Luke Williams, New Zealand-American wrestler 1948 – Jerzy Kaczmarek, Polish fencer 1948 – Gillies MacKinnon, Scottish director and screenwriter 1948 – Zekai Özger, Turkish poet and academic (d. 1973) 1949 – John Podesta, American lawyer and politician, 20th White House Chief of Staff 1949 – Lawrence Rowe, Jamaican cricketer 1949 – Anne Schedeen, American actress 1950 – Jos Hermens, Dutch runner 1951 – Kenny Anthony, Saint Lucian politician, 5th Prime Minister of Saint Lucia 1951 – John McTiernan, American director and producer 1951 – Franz Pachl, German chess player and composer 1951 – Karen Tei Yamashita, American author and academic 1952 – Vladimir Feltsman, Russian-American pianist and educator 1952 – Peter McCullagh, Irish mathematician and academic 1952 – Mel Reynolds, American academic and politician 1953 – Bruce Sutter, American baseball player 1954 – Konstantinos Kypriotis, Greek martial artist (d. 1995) 1955 – Joan Kingston, Canadian nurse, educator, and politician 1955 – Spiros Livathinos, Greek footballer and coach 1955 – Mike Reno, Canadian singer and drummer (Loverboy and Moxy) 1957 – Nacho Duato, Spanish dancer and choreographer 1957 – David Lang, American composer and academic 1958 – Rey Misterio, Sr., Mexican wrestler, trainer, and actor 1959 – Kim Duk-koo, South Korean boxer (d. 1982) 1959 – Paul Hester, Australian drummer (Crowded House, Split Enz, Deckchairs Overboard, and Tarmac Adam) (d. 2005) 1959 – Keith Rodden, American NASCAR crew chief 1960 – Lee Tomboulian, American pianist, accordion player, composer, and educator 1960 – Dave Weckl, American drummer 1961 – Keith Arkell, English chess player 1961 – Calvin Smith, American sprinter 1962 – Chris Marion, American singer and keyboard player (Little River Band and Western Flyer) 1964 – Marc Quinn, English sculptor 1964 – Ron Sexsmith, Canadian singer-songwriter 1966 – Igor Vyazmikin, Russian ice hockey player (d. 2009) 1966 – Andrew Wood, American singer-songwriter (Mother Love Bone and Malfunkshun) (d. 1990) 1967 – Willie Anderson, American basketball player 1967 – Torsten Gowitzke, German footballer and manager 1967 – Steven Jacobs, Australian television host and actor 1967 – R. Kelly, American singer-songwriter, producer, and actor (Public Announcement) 1967 – Tom Watson, English politician 1968 – Keith Mullings, Jamaican-American boxer 1968 – Bull Nakano, Japanese wrestler and golfer 1969 – Ami Dolenz, American television and film actress and producer 1969 – J. Hunter Johnson, American game designer, author, and translator 1970 – Jason Giambi, American baseball player 1971 – Jesper Jansson, Swedish footballer 1971 – Mike Süsser, German chef and author 1971 – Pascal Zuberbühler, Swiss footballer and coach 1972 – Paul Clement, English footballer, coach, and manager 1972 – Giuseppe Favalli, Italian footballer 1973 – Mike Cameron, American baseball player 1973 – Henning Solberg, Norwegian race car driver 1973 – Jason Stevens, Australian rugby league player and sportscaster 1975 – Harris Jayaraj, Indian composer and producer 1976 – Kenneth Andam, Ghanaian sprinter and businessman 1976 – Jenny Lewis, American singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actress (Rilo Kiley and The Postal Service) 1976 – Carl Pavano, American baseball player 1977 – Amber Benson, American actress, director, producer, and screenwriter 1977 – Ilisha Jarret, American basketball player 1979 – Torry Castellano, American drummer (The Donnas) 1979 – Seol Ki-hyeon, South Korean footballer and manager 1979 – Windell Middlebrooks, American actor (d. 2015) 1979 – Adrian Mutu, Romanian footballer 1979 – Stipe Pletikosa, Croatian footballer 1979 – Sarah Polley, Canadian actress, director, and screenwriter 1979 – Tomasz Schafernaker, Polish-English meteorologist 1979 – Mirella van Melis, Dutch cyclist 1980 – Adam Goodes, Australian footballer 1980 – Rachel Nichols, American actress and producer 1981 – Jeff Francis, Canadian baseball player 1981 – Ioannis Kokkodis, Greek swimmer 1981 – Virgil Spier, Dutch sprinter and hurdler 1981 – Trent Waterhouse, Australian rugby player 1982 – Emanuele Calaiò, Italian footballer 1982 – Wil Francis, American singer-songwriter and producer (Aiden and William Control) 1982 – Gaby Hoffmann, American actress 1983 – Felipe Colombo, Mexican-Argentinian singer-songwriter, guitarist, and actor 1983 – Jon Daly, Irish footballer 1983 – Kim Jong-un, North Korean soldier and politician, 3rd Supreme Leader of North Korea 1983 – Chris Masters, American wrestler and actor 1984 – Jeff Francoeur, American baseball player 1984 – Stephen Simpson, South African race car driver 1986 – David Silva, Spanish footballer 1987 – Carmen Klaschka, German tennis player 1988 – Vitaliy Hoshkoderya, Ukrainian footballer 1988 – Adrián López, Spanish footballer 1988 – Michael Mancienne, English footballer 1989 – Aaron Cruden, New Zealand rugby player 1989 – Kristján Einar, Icelandic race car driver 1989 – Barbora Silná, Czech-Austrian ice dancer 1990 – Hassan Adhuham, Maldivian footballer 1990 – Jeff Allen, American football player 1990 – Sascha Bigalke, German footballer 1990 – Scott Pye, Australian race car driver 1991 – Jorge Enríquez, Mexican footballer 1991 – Stefan Savić, Montenegrin footballer 1991 – Emiliano Tabone, Argentinian footballer 1992 – Koke, Spanish footballer 1992 – Stefanie Dolson, American basketball player 1992 – Apostolos Vellios, Greek footballer 1993 – Giovanni Galbieri, Italian sprinter Deaths 307 – Emperor Hui of Jin (b. 259) 482 – Severinus of Noricum, Italian saint (b. 410) 1107 – Edgar, King of Scotland (b. 1074) 1198 – Pope Celestine III (b. 1106) 1337 – Giotto, Italian painter and architect, designed Scrovegni Chapel and Giotto's Campanile (b. 1266) 1456 – Lawrence Giustiniani, Italian bishop and saint (b. 1381) 1464 – Thomas Ebendorfer, Austrian historian and academic (b. 1385) 1557 – Albert Alcibiades, Margrave of Brandenburg-Kulmbach (b. 1522) 1570 – Philibert de l'Orme, French sculptor and architect, designed the Château d'Anet (b. 1510) 1598 – John George, Elector of Brandenburg (b. 1525) 1642 – Galileo Galilei, Italian physicist, mathematician, astronomer, and philosopher (b. 1564) 1664 – Moses Amyraut, French physician and theologian (b. 1596) 1707 – John Dalrymple, 1st Earl of Stair, Scottish soldier and politician, Scottish Secretary of State (b. 1648) 1713 – Arcangelo Corelli, Italian violinist and composer (b. 1653) 1775 – John Baskerville, English printer and type designer (b. 1706) 1789 – Jack Broughton, English boxer (b. 1703) 1794 – Justus Möser, German lawyer and jurist (b. 1720) 1815 – Edward Pakenham, Anglo-Irish general and politician (b. 1778) 1825 – Eli Whitney, American engineer and theorist, invented the cotton gin (b. 1765) 1853 – Mihály Bertalanits, Slovene-Hungarian poet and educator (b. 1788) 1854 – William Beresford, 1st Viscount Beresford, English field marshal and politician, Lieutenant-General of the Ordnance (b. 1768) 1865 – Aimé, duc de Clermont-Tonnerre, French general and politician, French Minister of Defence (b. 1779) 1874 – Charles Étienne Brasseur de Bourbourg, French historian and archaeologist (b. 1814) 1878 – Nikolay Nekrasov, Russian poet and critic (b. 1821) 1878 – Gauchito Gil, Argentinian saint (b. 1847) 1880 – Emperor Norton, English-American businessman (b. 1811) 1883 – Miska Magyarics, Slovene-Hungarian poet (b. 1825) 1896 – William Rainey Marshall, American banker and politician, 5th Governor of Minnesota (b. 1825) 1896 – Paul Verlaine, French poet (b. 1844) 1901 – John Barry, Irish soldier, Victoria Cross recipient (b. 1873) 1912 – Friedrich Schrempf, German journalist and politician (b. 1858) 1914 – Simon Bolivar Buckner, American general and 30th Governor of Kentucky (b. 1823) 1916 – Rembrandt Bugatti, Italian sculptor (b. 1884) 1916 – Ada Rehan, Irish-American actress (b. 1860) 1918 – Johannes Pääsuke, Estonian photographer and director (b. 1892) 1918 – Ellis H. Roberts, American journalist and politician, 20th Treasurer of the United States (b. 1827) 1925 – George Bellows, American painter (b. 1882) 1932 – Eurosia Fabris, Italian philanthropist (b. 1866) 1934 – Andrei Bely, Russian author, poet, and critic (b. 1880) 1934 – Alexandre Stavisky, Ukrainian-French financier (b. 1886) 1935 – Rauf Yekta, Turkish musicologist and author (b. 1871) 1938 – Johnny Gruelle, American author and illustrator (b. 1880) 1941 – Robert Baden-Powell, 1st Baron Baden-Powell, English general (b. 1857) 1942 – Joseph Franklin Rutherford, American lawyer and religious leader (b. 1869) 1943 – Richard Hillary, Australian pilot and author (b. 1919) 1943 – Andres Larka, Estonian general and politician, 1st Estonian Minister of War (b. 1879) 1944 – William Kissam Vanderbilt II, American lieutenant and sailor (b. 1878) 1945 – Karl Ernst Krafft, Swiss astrologer and author (b. 1900) 1948 – Kurt Schwitters, German painter and graphic designer (b. 1887) 1950 – Joseph Schumpeter, Czech-American economist and academic (b. 1883) 1952 – Antonia Maury, American astronomer and astrophysicist (b. 1866) 1953 – Hugh Binney, English admiral and politician, 16th Governor of Tasmania (b. 1883) 1954 – Eduard Wiiralt, Estonian-French painter and illustrator (b. 1898) 1956 – Jim Elliot, American missionary and martyr (b. 1928) 1958 – Mary Colter, American architect, designed the Desert View Watchtower (b. 1869) 1958 – John Duff, Canadian race car driver (b. 1895) 1958 – Paul Pilgrim, American runner (b. 1883) 1961 – Yaşar Doğu, Turkish wrestler (b. 1913) 1961 – Schoolboy Rowe, American baseball player and coach (b. 1910) 1963 – Kay Sage, American painter and poet (b. 1898) 1963 – Bimal Roy, Indian director and producer (b. 1909) 1967 – Zbigniew Cybulski, Polish actor (b. 1927) 1967 – Jacques Heim, French fashion designer (b. 1899) 1969 – Albert Hill, English runner and coach (b. 1889) 1969 – Elmar Kaljot, Estonian footballer and coach (b. 1901) 1970 – Jani Christou, Egyptian-Greek pianist and composer (b. 1926) 1970 – Georges Guibourg, French actor, singer, and playwright (b. 1891) 1972 – Kenneth Patchen, American poet and author (b. 1911) 1975 – Richard Tucker, American tenor (b. 1913) 1976 – Zhou Enlai, Chinese soldier and politician, 1st Premier of the People's Republic of China (b. 1898) 1976 – Robert Forgan, Scottish-English physician and politician (b. 1891) 1979 – Sara Carter, American singer-songwriter and harp player (Carter Family) (b. 1898) 1980 – John Mauchly, American physicist and academic (b. 1907) 1981 – Matthew Beard, American actor (b. 1925) 1982 – Grégoire Aslan, Swiss-English actor and screenwriter (b. 1908) 1983 – Hüseyin Alp, Turkish basketball player and actor (b. 1935) 1983 – Gerhard Barkhorn, German general and pilot (b. 1919) 1983 – Tom McCall, American journalist and politician 30th Governor of Oregon (b. 1913) 1984 – Eerik Kumari, Estonian ornithologist and academic (b. 1912) 1986 – Pierre Fournier, French cellist and educator (b. 1906) 1990 – Bernard Krigstein, American illustrator (b. 1919) 1990 – Terry-Thomas, English actor (b. 1911) 1991 – Steve Clark, English singer-songwriter and guitarist (Def Leppard) (b. 1960) 1994 – Pat Buttram, American actor and comedian (b. 1915) 1994 – Harvey Haddix, American baseball player and coach (b. 1925) 1995 – Carlos Monzón, Argentinian boxer and actor (b. 1942) 1996 – Metin Göktepe, Turkish photographer and journalist (b. 1968) 1996 – François Mitterrand, French sergeant and politician, 21st President of France (b. 1916) 1996 – Howard Taubman, American author and critic (b. 1907) 1997 – Melvin Calvin, American chemist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1911) 1998 – Michael Tippett, English composer and conductor (b. 1905) 2000 – Fritz Thiedemann, German horse rider (b. 1918) 2002 – Alexander Prokhorov, Australian-Russian physicist and academic, Nobel Prize laureate (b. 1916) 2002 – Dave Thomas, American businessman and philanthropist, founded Wendy's (b. 1932) 2003 – Ron Goodwin, English composer and conductor (b. 1925) 2004 – Charles Brown, American actor (b. 1946) 2004 – John A. Gambling, American radio host (b. 1930) 2006 – Tony Banks, Baron Stratford, Northern Irish broadcaster and politician, Minister for Sport and the Olympics (b. 1943) 2007 – Jane Bolin, American lawyer and judge (b. 1908) 2007 – Arthur Cockfield, Baron Cockfield, English lawyer and politician, Secretary of State for Business, Innovation and Skills (b. 1916) 2007 – Yvonne De Carlo, Canadian-American actress and singer (b. 1922) 2007 – David Ervine, Northern Irish politician and activist (b. 1953) 2007 – Iwao Takamoto, American animator, director, and producer (b. 1925) 2008 – George Moore, Australian jockey and trainer (b. 1923) 2010 – Art Clokey, American animator, director, producer, and screenwriter (b. 1921) 2011 – Jiří Dienstbier, Czech journalist and politician (b. 1937) 2011 – John Roll, American soldier, lawyer, and judge (b. 1947) 2011 – Thorbjørn Svenssen, Norwegian footballer (b. 1924) 2012 – Dave Alexander, American singer and pianist (b. 1938) 2012 – T. J. Hamblin, English haematologist and academic (b. 1943) 2012 – John Madin, English architect, designed the Birmingham Central Library (b. 1924) 2012 – Bernhard Schrader, German chemist and academic (b. 1931) 2012 – Alexis Weissenberg, Bulgarian-French pianist and educator (b. 1929) 2013 – Tandyn Almer, American songwriter and producer (b. 1942) 2013 – Kenojuak Ashevak, Canadian sculptor and illustrator (b. 1927) 2013 – Jeanne Manford, American educator and activist, co-founded PFLAG (b. 1920) 2013 – Alasdair Milne, Indian-English director and producer (b. 1930) 2014 – Vicente T. Blaz, American general and politician (b. 1928) 2014 – Madeline Gins, American poet and architect (b. 1941) 2014 – Irma Heijting-Schuhmacher, Dutch-Australian swimmer (b. 1925) 2014 – Antonino P. Roman, Filipino lawyer and politician (b. 1939) 2015 – Andraé Crouch, American singer-songwriter, producer, and pastor (b. 1942) 2015 – Kep Enderby, Australian lawyer, judge, and politician, 23rd Attorney-General for Australia (b. 1926) 2015 – Patsy Garrett, American actress and singer (b. 1921) 2015 – Leif Rantala, Finnish-Swedish linguist and academic (b. 1947) 2016 – Otis Clay, American singer-songwriter (b. 1942) 2016 – Maria Teresa de Filippis, Italian race car driver (b. 1926) Holidays and observances Babinden (Belarus, Russia) Christian feast day: Abo of Tiflis Apollinaris Claudius Blessed Eurosia Fabris Gauchito Gil (Folk Catholicism) Gudula Harriet Bedell (Episcopal Church (USA)) Lawrence Giustiniani Lucian of Beauvais Our Lady of Prompt Succor (Bon Secours) (Roman Catholic Church) Pega Severinus of Noricum Thorfinn of Hamar January 8 (Eastern Orthodox liturgics) Commonwealth Day (Northern Mariana Islands) Earliest day on which Children's Day can fall, while January 14 is the latest; celebrated on the second Saturday in January. (Thailand) Typing Day (International observance) External links Wikimedia Commons has media related to January 8. BBC: On This Day The New York Times: On This Day Today in Canadian History Category:Days of the year Category:January